Professor Dresden
by Turtlesse
Summary: Harry Dresden gets the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but not everything is as straightforward as it seems. Will Harry be able to juggle different obligations, all the while teaching actual KIDS? Only time can tell. /I have rewritten the story, so it has a plot now. I promise it's even better than it was./
1. Chapter 1

_Partial credit for the opening scene to xaktarsonis from Reddit. I'm writing after Skin Game / Fantastic Beasts, so some parts might be incorrect after Peace Talks / Crimes of Grindelwald come out. The story's written as though Dresden has already reconciled with the Council._

* * *

EARLY JULY

"Me? Teach a class? You really want me to teach kids? Uh, you remember what happened with my last apprentice, The Lady of Winter? And with the newbies at Captain Lucio's training camp?"

"Yes, Hoss, I remember, Warden Ramirez gave us a briefing about it afterwards," said my old mentor Ebenezar, his gruff voice speaking over the small black rock I had in front of me. "I also remember that the Grey Council had to pull your ass out of the fire that was Chichen Itza, so consider this repayment. Now, the school is over in England, and the Gatekeeper requested you specifically, something about how you know Defense Against the Dark Arts or some nonsense. I told him he was a fool, but he insisted. Arranged everything with the headmistress there, full pay and a chance to finish sorting out some of that paperwork you left when you took some time off."

"Damn," I did owe the Gatekeeper and this might be a way for me to clear my debts. Wait, clear my debts… when I start thinking like a checkbook. "Fine, I'll do it, but what kind of class is that, Sir? Defense Against the Dark Arts? I just shoot the bastards still they stop moving. That's my defense, plain and simple."

"Hoss," I could hear the frustration starting to build in his voice, "Just keep these kids out of trouble and teach them a thing or two about magic. Focus on shields, the Laws, you know what to do."

"Yes, Sir," I sighed in resignation, "When do I start?"

"The kids get there September 1st. You need to already be there and ready to go. And don't advertise it, you know how some on the Council feel about the Ministries."

"So I'll have to dodge thinly veiled attacks of jealousy too?" yeah, this will be my dream job. And I'm not even remotely sarcastic. "Anything else?" I asked, really hoping that I could get going and figure out what I was going to teach these kids. I mean, really, who wants Harry Dresden as their teacher? I killed the previous Winter and Summer Ladies, my apprentice and my physical therapist were now in their roles. Destroyed the Red Court, and became the Winter Knight.

Oh, and I kind of died, and came back. OK, maybe I was the kind of teacher I would want.

"Jealousy won't be your biggest problem" Ebenezar smirked. "Come to Edinburgh first, there are a few things I'd rather discuss in person. Just keep your head about and don't do anything stupid." His voice backed off with that last statement and suddenly, I was back in my apprentice's apartment, sitting on the floor. Doing anything stupid, me? Never.

I stood up. If I can't get out of it, let's get over with it is my policy, though my old mentor's words bothered me. _Jealousy won't be my biggest problem?_ Somehow, I never like a job if it starts like this. I grabbed my leather duster, blasting rod and staff and threw a simple carved skull into a bag which I wore slung around my chest, muttered "Apparturum" and stepped through the opening I had just created.

One Professor Dresden coming up …

-O-

I arrived in Edinburgh without accidents. Chandler let me in with only a nod, and I found my way to Ebenezar's office. I hesitated a bit before knocking (I still wasn't sure I wanted to do this) but I overcame my fear.

"Yes?" my mentor's voice came through the door.

"It's me" I answered, then realized this might not be enough and added, "Dresden."

The door opened and Ebenezar ushered me in. I took in the office while he returned to his desk. It hasn't changed much, the walls were still lined with bookshelves, although more books sat on chairs, tables and the floor than the last time.

"Things getting a bit out of hand?" I smirked, gesturing around the room, but Ebenezar just glared at me.

"Sit down, Hoss" he said.

"Where? You see…" I started, still smirking (I have a bad habit of getting smartass when I don't like how things are going), but Ebenezar cut in.

"Just put some books on the floor. We have to talk." He stopped talking, and it took me a moment to realize he was waiting for me to sit down – this really must be serious – so I carefully placed a stack of 300-something-year-old manuscripts on the floor and sat down.

"Everything I say to you is unofficial" my mentor stared off, staring intently at me. "Rashid got knowledge of a warlock hiding in Scotland. Now" he raised a hand, stopping me before I had a chance to interrupt, "the case is far from simple. The warlock's hiding in a school, if I remember correctly, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"This is the school I'll be working in?" I cut in, holding back on the sarcasm for once. See, who says I'm not sensible.

"Yes, it is" Ebenezar said, sounding frustrated for some reason. "The problem is, the school belongs to the British Ministry of Magic, and they flat-out refused to let us even near it some time ago, but there's no reason to think they have changed position. We have been in a feud since 1707, as you surely know" he added with a smile. "And according to Rashid, this warlock is a powerful one, though he refuses to say who he is. The only information he gave is that the warlock's been there for one to three years."

"One to three? That's not very concrete." My bad feelings about the job grew, since I had an inkling my real job would be to get this warlock, and the back of my neck started itching.

"That's the best we have. You're the one who can capture him and won't mind doing it behind the back of the Council." Oh yeah, this is it. Sometimes I hate to be right. "The official reason is that you have money troubles. As long as no one digs deeper, it'll be fine."

"That's super" I muttered, then took a deep breath. Now it really looked like I had no choice. "Do they know about the mission? I mean, at the school."

Ebenezar shook his head. "I don't think so, but the Gatekeeper arranged it. I'd bet no."

I nodded. At least there's a chance the warlock won't know I'm coming. "And the Wardens, Sir? I can't just disappear."

"Again, the Gatekeeper talked with Lucio. I don't know what exactly he said but she let you go for a year. You won't get the paycheck, though."

"That's okay, I'll get paid by the school." I thought hard about what else I had to ask, but Ebenezar interrupted.

"I'd be more worried about Mab if I were you, Hoss." he looked genuinely worried, so I smiled to reassure him.

"She won't be a problem" I said, sounding confident – which I was, since it really sounded like this was it, so Mab would only be a problem if I refused. Still, my old mentor didn't look convinced, but he didn't press either.

"You should get there as soon as you can" he said. "Term starts in September but the sooner you're there, the more time you have. You're supposed to get a letter telling you everything you need to know about the school."

I nodded mutely, then after a moment voiced the only question in my head.

"How do I teach them anything, Sir?"

Ebenezar met my eyes. "You know everything that's worthy of being taught, Hoss. You'll be there for a year, you don't have to teach them everything. But you can tell them how to survive a real fight, and trust me because I see it in many a young Warden, you're someone people can look up to. And it may frighten you, but you have potential to become a great wizard, and teaching some kids a thing or two about fighting will help you too. Just don't let them frighten you. You've faced tougher enemies." My old mentor smiled and stood up. "Now go home and get ready. Tell those who are worthy of knowing it where you're going. You'll do great."

"Thank you" I said sincerely. Sometimes, you need a mentor even if you're an adult. Even if you're in way deeper shit than what your mentor is aware of.

-O-

JUNE

Yeah, I was in way too deep shit. It's been in June, I was walking Mouse for the Carpenters and for old times' sake when Mab appeared. I haven't seen her since she instructed me to help Nicodemus and I've been growing anxious. At first, I didn't even recognize her. She was standing in the park with her back to me, and I'd have simply passed her if she hadn't turned around. What surprised me even more was that even Mouse hadn't detected her, but maybe the Mantle changed his mind about her.

"My Knight" she smiled at me, but her eyes remained cold as ice. "So good to see you."

"My Queen." I came to a stop a few feet from her. "What do you want?"

"Straight to the point as ever, I see" Mab murmured, but she didn't seem irritated. "I came to tell you of your new mission." She paused but I didn't say anything. I learnt through hard mistakes that you wait for what Mab has to say and only then respond. She seemed satisfied by my silence and continued with a small smile. "Someone has wronged me. You don't need to know the specifics, though I am sure you will manage to find out. Your job is to find him and kill him."

Oh. So here comes my first real Winter Knight-y job. Kill a human person with who Mab is mad. I was expecting it, but I can't say I took it well. It's one thing to kill when your life is threatened and, maybe not that rationally, to kill a non-human. But this will be cold-hearted murder.

"Who is that?" I asked in what I hope was a calm manner. "It'll be hard to kill him if I can't find him."

"Oh, you will." Mab sent a cruel little smile my way. "Someone will ask you to find someone in the next few weeks. They don't know I have an interest in the proceedings and it will stay that way." Her eyes flashed cold. "You will accept their ask for help. They will tell you everything you need to know."

I swallowed. "Yes, my Queen."

She nodded and turned away from me. "See that you perform well, my Knight" she said, and disappeared.

* * *

 _Here it is. I'll try to update every one or two weeks, but if I have time, I won't hold back. I'm not yet sure how much time I'll have to write, so we'll see._


	2. Chapter 2

After my run-in with Mab I took Mouse home. The Carpenters tried to make me stay for dinner, but I had lost my appetite. Instead, I went back to Molly's apartment, I was always welcome there when I wasn't staying on the island. Molly's been gone for a week now and she told me not to expect her for another few. I had no idea where she was but for once, I was glad for her absence – it gave me time to think without anyone plastering me about what has happened to make me get so sour.

It didn't take me much to figure out I had no choice but to wait. Mab told me to, and she wouldn't have done so if it were urgent, and besides, I had no lead to go on, just a mysterious someone about to approach me. To tell the truth, as the days went forward I kind of forgot about the whole thing and instead went on with my life. That meant Ebenezar's call couldn't have been a bigger slap; it made me realize I shouldn't be able to forget something this important. And my old mentor was right in that I had to tell people I was leaving this time. They love me but even they couldn't forgive me twice for the same thing. Even if I wouldn't know what to say, and even if I was terrified to say it.

-O-

I called Michael from a gas station right after I returned from Edinburgh (I didn't want to give myself time to change my mind, so I took the first phone I came across after I exited the Nevernever). I asked him if I could speak with them and he invited me over for dinner, so I headed over to his house. I probably could've afforded a cab, but it wasn't that far. I arrived relatively early, but I knew no one would mind, so I knocked and immediately heard two pairs of feet running towards the door.

"Maggie, stop! Let's see first who it is." I heard, and then the door was yanked open by Daniel holding Maggie back. "Harry!" his face lit up. "You're early. Come on in." He stepped aside to let me in.

"Well, yeah, I thought I could come in instead of standing outside." I smiled at the kid – or, not kid any more. He has grown a lot since I first met him. He must be now, what, twenty? Man, do I feel old sometimes. Thankfully Maggie jumped on me before my thoughts could've taken me to a dark place. 'Dad!" she shouted.

"Hey, kiddo" I smiled at her, holding her in my arms. She was growing heavy, but I didn't mind. I took every opportunity I could in the past year or so to be with her, and it still wasn't enough. And now I'm leaving.

We walked further in while I listened to Maggie's blubbering about her day. In the kitchen, Charity was in the middle of making dinner with the help of Alicia and Harry, although the boy seemed to be more in the way than of help. Daniel went to join them, and I put Maggie down so she could grab my hand and lead me wherever she wanted us to be. Before we could get going, though, something huge and furry slammed into my legs, almost knocking me over.

"Hey, boy!" I knelt, stroking Mouse's fur. Maggie let out a laugh and grabbed my hand.

"Come on, Mouse!" she said as pulled me towards the staircase. "Come," she tugged on my hand. "I wanna show you my drawing!"

"Let's go, then" I agreed, feeling a smile breaking out on my face. My relationship with my daughter got better and better since I finally decided to be her dad, and it couldn't have made me happier.

"Harry!" Michael's voice interrupted when we were almost at the top. "Good to see you."

"Michael" I looked back at him, stopping for a moment. "Maggie's showing me her drawing. We'll be down soon. When's dinner starting?"

"Go," he assured me. "It won't be ready for a while. I'll send someone to get you."

"Thanks." I smiled and looked at Maggie. "Let's go then."

-O-

I spent the next fifteen minutes looking at Maggie's drawings. They were actually pretty good, she had talent. Several of the them were of Mouse, often with Maggie, me or both of us. I'm still amazed by this whole dad thing, and I'm just as happy when I find something to remind me as I was at first. Maybe it got a little less scary.

"Harry, Maggie," Amanda's face appeared in the doorway. "Dinner's ready."

"Yey!" Maggie shouted and dashed out of the room, her steps loud going down the stairs.

"Thanks" I smiled at Amanda and stood up to follow her. We walked down in silence, and into the kitchen. The rest of the family was already there, Maggie just sitting down. We took our place as well, me sitting next to my daughter.

After a quick prayer dinner started quietly, everyone occupied with their food, but as we began to fill up, chatter started in the room.

"Have you heard about Molly?"

I looked up to see Charity staring expectantly at me. I shook my head.

"No. She hasn't told me anything. Don't worry," I added quickly, seeing her expression filling up with worry. "I'm sure she's all right, she's probably just busy." Which wasn't a lie. All I knew was that Molly went away on Winter business and I could only guess it wouldn't leave her time to be bored, but she hadn't told her family anything of the story, and I promised to let her make the call. I'm sure Michael was catching up on it and Charity had to know something too, but they hadn't questioned me yet, thank god.

Charity seemed to have accepted my half-truth, but I knew more would be coming if Molly didn't come home soon. Michael, on the other hand, leaned forward.

"You wanted to tell everyone something, Harry" he said, his deep voice carrying over the conversations and making everyone listen. At least he wasn't pressing about Molly, but I had to swallow.

"Yeah" I muttered. "Um, I got a new job."

"That's wonderful, dear!" Charity smiled, but I winced.

"Uh, not that much. It's over in Scotland."

It took a moment for it to settle in, but then a little hand grabbed mine.

"Are you leaving?" Maggie asked in a small voice, her eyes super large in her face. I closed my eyes for a moment. Yeah, that's what I was afraid of.

"I have to" I told her quietly. "But it's only a year, and I'll come visit" I promised.

"What is this job?" Michael asked. He, too, got quiet.

"It's in a school called Hogwarts, it teaches magic" I told them. "They hired me as a teacher for a year."

They accepted that, though Michael looked like he wanted to ask some more questions but he was restraining himself for now. The rest of the dinner went on like usual, though Maggie clung to me more. After we finished I bathed Maggie and took her to bed. The whole time she didn't say a word, just held on to me as much as she could. When we reached the point when I usually read her a story, she took the book out of my hand and looked at me expectantly, but still she said nothing. I was starting to get really nervous. I had no idea what I could say to make things better and I feared everything I said would work in the opposite way. In the end, she took matters into her own hands and reached out to touch my face. I instantly leaned closer as she asked, still in that small voice of hers that made my heart ache,

"Do you promise to come back?"

"I promise" I whispered to her and kissed her temple. "I'll come visit in the holidays, too."

She nodded, slightly more relaxed, but I could still tell she was nervous. "I'll call and write, too" I added. She nodded again and lay back, letting me tuck her in. I gave her another kiss

"Good night" I said.

"Good night" she repeated, a small smile now playing on her lips.

-O-

I closed the door behind me and went down the stairs. The younger Carpenter kids were getting ready for bed, but Alicia, Matthew and Daniel now had permission to stay up longer. Still, I found only Michael in the kitchen.

"Harry" he welcomed me when I stepped in. "Have you put Maggie to sleep?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She was worried I wouldn't come back.

"Some scars take a long time to heal" Michael rumbled. "I trust you have reassured her."

"Yeah" I said, and then we lapsed into a somewhat uncomfortable silence.

"Why are you going to Scotland?" Michael asked in the end.

I was expecting the question, but it was no easier to answer. I could tell him the official reason – money troubles – but it would only insult him. He's seen the heap of diamonds we all got. After a few minutes of silence I decided to give him honesty, at least as much of it as I could.

"The official reason's money problems" I started softly. "I can't tell you the real reason. I can't see clearly yet, either."

He looked at me for a long moment, and then said, "You shouldn't go into it without any help. I'm not saying you have to tell me but tell someone. Murphy deserves it, and so does Thomas. And you should warn Butters that you'll be gone. He doesn't deserve it to fall on his shoulders." He left it unsaid but I could hear the last word. _Again._ Yeah, he didn't deserve it.

"I'll talk with them" I promised. "Could you tell Molly where I am when she comes home? I don't think I'll meet her before I leave."

"Of course" nodded my friend. "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as I can. I'm supposed to get a letter telling me how to get there, so I guess after that."

Michael nodded again, then stood up and brought two beers to the table. "Stay safe." he opened his and raised it.

"I will." I opened mine, too, and took a sip. One thing you can be sure with Michael, he'll press you only as far as you need it.


	3. Chapter 3

Murphy was a lot harder to talk to. Not because she was any less likely to understand but because I was afraid of losing her a lot more. I know it's completely irrational – there was no reason why she would leave me – other than, of course, being dishonest with her. Which is exactly what I was doing by not talking to her. See? Completely irrational.

In the end, I decided to talk to Butters first and keep pretending I wasn't avoiding Murph. Not the best strategy on the long run but I couldn't keep doing nothing either, so I chose to do the easier stuff, which I could actually convince myself to do. And since I didn't want to barge in on him while he was at work (I know, I've done that a lot, but you can start trying politeness. Besides, most of the time there was some imminent doomsday. This time, I could afford patience.), I even called ahead. Yeah, I know. Sometimes I surprise myself, too.

I should have known it wouldn't go _that_ easily, though. It was three days after I talked with Michael, and many more days since I last met with Murph, so really, I should have expected her to show up at my door. Well, at Molly's door. And actually, just in front of the building, the svartalves don't let anyone in. The point is, I'm getting sloppy as a PI.

She was waiting for me, leaning to the wall. When I stepped outside she pushed herself off and walked into my way, but then she just stopped and looked at me. I came to a stop too, but I refused to meet her eyes – and not just for avoiding a soulgaze.

"I'm sorry" I finally said after a few uncomfortable seconds, I think somewhere to my shoes. I don't cope well with this kind of tension.

"You've been avoiding me." Murphy's voice was harder than it has ever been since she decided to trust me. Gulp. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

All right, big boy. Take a breath and say it. "I'm going away" I blurted. Murphy didn't say anything so I looked up, but she was just standing there, quirking an eyebrow. Oh. "Not like that" I added quickly. "I got a job which… Ah well. I kinda can't refuse it."

"Mab?"

Ohh, shit.

"Ebenezar" I said. It wasn't technically a lie, right? "He wants me to take care of something. I'll tell you, just not here" I looked around.

Murphy nodded and fell in step with me as I started walking. "You going somewhere?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. To Butters'. He agreed to meet with me."

"You're giving him a heads-up?" Murphy's tone was somewhat approving, but she wouldn't look at me. Well, I guess it doesn't feel so good to know that a -just- friend gets a warning before you. Still, her being Murphy, she would appreciate that I'm not leaving Butters to defend the city without a word. Again.

"I'm going to ask him to get word around" I said quietly.

I wouldn't have thought that this would be the one making the volcano erupt, but hey, wrong on one more count.

'Oh, so that's how I was going to find out about it?" Murphy finally whirled around to face me, stopping me in my tracks. "If I hadn't come to ask you what the hell is going on with you, is that how you planned to _get word to me_?"

I winced. "That's not what I meant…" I started to explain but Murph cut in. Once she explodes, she does so thoroughly.

"Oh yeah? And how exactly did you mean it? You disappear for more than a week with no word _again_ and I have to go to Michael to know you're still alive? Do you know what I went through? Do you know what it felt like last time? Oh, no, you don't, because it's never the right time for that conversation." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "And to think it's happening all over again?! Oh God, Harry, how exactly _did_ you mean it?" her voice deflated with that last sentence and she just stood there defeated.

I closed my eyes. "I'm sorry, I was a coward" I whispered.

"A coward?" Now her voice was bitter. "You're afraid to tell me you're leaving."

It took me a moment to grasp her meaning, but then I jerked my head up.

"Murph, I told you, I'm not leaving you." I was looking into her face for the first time during this catastrophic conversation, trying my best to convince her. I couldn't, just _couldn't_ lose her to my stupidity. "I promise. It's just a job."

Murphy looked me in the face for a long moment, searching for something, maybe for proof that I was being honest. But if that's what she was looking for, she must have found it, since after a while she nodded. "All right. I believe you. Just you know, sometimes you make it all too easy to doubt it."

I remembered when a few years ago we were talking about us, she said I'll leave her anyway because I live much longer. Ouch.

"I know. I'm sorry" I said, trying my best puppy eyes and failing. "I was putting off talking to you. I guess I was afraid I'd lose you." I let out a little laugh. "Not the best strategy, right?" And the worst thing is, I knew all along it would make matters worse and I still couldn't act.

Murph huffed. "Yeah. You know I wouldn't have reacted this way if you'd just told me." Then, as an afterthought, she added, "You pig."

Heh. At least she was smiling. "Why don't you come with me to see Butters and then I'll tell you everything" I offered. _Everything I can._

"You're not planning on telling Butters everything?" Murphy asked as we started walking again.

I shook my head. "I don't even know that much, and I'd rather keep the whole thing a secret. Basically, the only leverage I have is that maybe – _maybe_ – the other guy doesn't know I'm coming. Butters deserves and needs to know I'm leaving, but that's it. I'm playing it close to my chest."

Murphy hmm-d but let it there. "Come on" she said instead. "I'll give you a ride."

I looked around and realized we were standing next to her Harley. I felt a smile on my face. "All right. For old times' sake."

There really was nothing to fear, after all, other than my own stupidity. Completely irrational, that's me.

And then Murph (slightly) jabbed me in the stomach, making me double over. "Just don't think this conversation is finished for good, jackass."

* * *

 _I've decided to upload the scenes as I finish them and not wait for longer chapters. That does mean though that some chapters might be ridiculously short, but at least it'll mean more frequent updates._

 _On a different note, I have tenosynovitis so I shouldn't be writing. As you can see, that's not happening, but I'll try to let my wrist rest, so that's less writing than what I'd prefer. Just so that you don't think I've disappeared if I don't post for a week or so.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

Butters told me to meet him at his place at three. We arrived around three thirty, but I hoped he was patient. Murph stopped in a park and decided that that's where I was telling her everything, and… you know. I didn't argue. The plus is, I won't have to do it later.

I ringed while Murphy parked the Harley, and Butters' voice answered.

"Is that you, Harry?"

He only sounded a bit annoyed. That's a good thing.

"Yeah, it's me" I said. "Hey, sorry we're late, Murphy decided to tag along and we had to do something."

"Something, eh?" he said. "Come on in, I have to leave in half an hour."

I opened the door to let Murphy in, who in turn glared at me. I would have played our game but Butters said he was on limited time, so I gave up first and went in. And maybe I could play it in Murph's way for a bit.

The thing about Butters is, he' hurt more since he became a Knight if we (I) shut him out. I'd have to play this conversation carefully, because I didn't want to offend him, but on the other hand, what I told Murph about playing it close to my chest was true. So I'd be treading a rather fine line, but there was no other choice.

Butters waited for us at his door and let us in, then led us to the dining table where two cups of (now cold) tea sat waiting.

"Sit down" he gestured. "I'll bring another cup."

We did as we were told, and I looked around, noticing that to Murph, the place was familiar. I've only been here once and even then I was breaking in, so I didn't pay that much attention to the décor. I guess Murph's been here a lot when I was "dead". Anyways, the place was nice and clean, if not huge. There were a few pictures on the walls but mostly it was kept solid. I smiled a little when I saw the polka set in a corner. It's been a while since I last saw Butters practice on it; I hoped he hadn't forgotten it even if he now had other obligations.

Butters returned with a cup and a steaming pot of tea.

"You should empty those" he said, pointing to the cups of cold tea, while he poured some into the empty cup. I nodded and took the cups into the kitchen and got rid of the tea. The kitchen was tidy too. Probably comes with job. You wouldn't want to lose an arm or a head. It would make autopsy awkward.

I returned to the dining room to find Murphy and Butters talking, but they stopped as soon as I came in. I set the cups down as Butters asked, "So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"

"I wanted to tell you beforehand" I said as I sat down. "It's a kinda new concept for me, but I decided not to just disappear. I got a job which I can't refuse, Ebenezar asked me…"

"Who?" Butters cut in.

"Oh" I stopped my rambling. "My old mentor. He asked it as a favor and I can't really say no."

"So where's this job? I take it it's not close?" he asked while he gave me a steaming cup of tea.

"Yeah" I nodded, taking a sip. "It's over in Scotland, in a school. I'm going as a teacher, it's for a year."

To give the guy some credit, Butters didn't even blink.

"All right" he nodded. "What can you tell me?"

"Not much more" I grimaced. "I'll be gone for the school year, but I'll at least visit in the breaks. Other than that, I don't even know much more."

Butters raised a brow.

"So there's more to it?" It must have shown on my face that I hadn't planned on telling him that because he quickly added, "I don't want to intrude into business that's not mine, Harry. You don't have to tell me anything."

I closed my eyes for a moment and thought. How much does it hurt Butters if I shut him out? It's true he probably won't be involved in this, at least I don't want him to, but if I have to call in the heavy artillery, he's a part of it. And in that case, he definitely would be cross that I hadn't told him. On the other hand, there was a fair chance that I wouldn't need that much help, and the less people know about it, the better. According to Ebenezar, the Council wouldn't be that happy to hear about this business, and I don't want to announce my true mission to the warlock either. And truth be told, as much as I like and trust Butters, sometimes he has a hard time keeping a secret. Not because he doesn't want to, it's just that if a friend asks him, he'll answer. And you can see where this could lead. Eh.

"I'm sorry" I twisted my mouth. "Don't take it personally. Yeah, it's something more, but I don't wanna announce it, so I'm not talking about it. Fewer people know, the better."

"I understand" he nodded. Was it my imagination or did he look a bit relieved? "Do you want me to pass around the news?"

"Yeah, thanks" I nodded. "I was planning to ask you just that."

He smiled and then said, "All right, then. Why don't you tell us about the school, then?"

"Actually, that's the other thing..."

* * *

 _So... my hand is only getting worse and I'm actually trying to let it rest. I originally planned this chapter to include more but I still can't (shouldn't) write and I didn't want to leave you hanging. So here's this super-short chapter and I've no idea when will more come. The only thing I can promise is that I'm trying :(_


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note: I have updated the last chapter. Just a little at the end, but read it before reading this chapter._

* * *

"Hey boss, back into business?" the skull greeted me. To be correct, he's not a skull, he's a spirit of intellect but that's too long. We have some history of working together.

"Hey Bob" I said. "Not quite. Just a bit of consultation. What do you know about the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

You see, I used to own Bob. I pulled him out of the ruins of my first mentor's lab, just as he pulled him out of a warlock's lab. But then I started to make harder and harder decisions and it was collectively decided that it's for the best if I didn't own him anymore. I have my own spirit of intellect now, but she's barely been born and although she knows a lot (it seems she's been learning even when she lived inside my head), her knowledge isn't even near that if Bob's. As it's Butters who owns him now, he agreed to 'lend' him to me for the questioning.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?" he pursed his lips, which is a pretty impressive feat for someone with no lips. "Not much new, it's on the other side of magic. Most of my owners have been from this side."

"What do you mean, other side? Ebenezar said something similar. They have ministries or something."

"Yeah, well, if you knew your history, Harry, you'd know that there was a Wizard's Council that split into two for political reasons in 1707, the two parts being the White Council and the Ministry of Magic. I was there, by the way" he gloated. Just a bit. "Then the Ministry split into even more parts, more or less geographically, while the White Council stayed together, but there's still a lot of rivalry."

"Wow" I said after a second or so. "How come I never even heard of them?"

"It probably has something to do with the fact that you're quite blind" Bob smirked but seeing my glare, he corrected himself. "Or the fact that the two sides hate each other so much that they want to pretend the other doesn't even exist. Unless you directly run into them, you're likely to live your life never knowing they're there. Oh, by the way, how did you run into them?"

I told him. He laughed at me. I glared at him. Business as usual.

"Bob" I said, getting frustrated. "The school. What do you know about it?"

"Right, the school" he nodded, keeping his chuckles at bay. "It was founded sometime in the tenth century by four wizards, who also created four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The school teaches kids from age eleven to eighteen and has seven grades. What do you want to know specifically?"

"I don't know… How many students go there? How many faculty members does it have?"

"I have no idea" he shrugged. I stared at him. That is one sentence I've never heard him say. "Look, man, I told you I have no new information, I spent the last two hundred years on this side of the conflict. I only know the basics."

"All right" I sighed. "Then tell you where it is."

"Somewhere in Scotland" Bob said.

"That's not very helpful" I told him.

"In the Scottish Highlands."

"Still." I told him again.

He shrugged (again, very impressive for a guy with no shoulders). "They're very secretive about it. It's supposedly near Dufftown."

"Dufftown" I repeated. "Where the hell is Dufftown?"

"Get a map" Bob told me. I snorted. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

"A lot, but it seems you won't be able to answer them" I muttered.

"A first time for everything" he said cheerily. I glared at him again. Somehow, I feel like I'm doing a lot more glaring when I'm with Bob. Anyone's guess why. But I did know a little more than I did before, so it was worth it.

-O-

It was getting late when we left Butters' place so we decided to grab something at the Waffle House. Don't judge. We chose a pretty secluded table and with a nice pile of pancakes in front of us, I finally started talking.

"So" I said, munching on some pancakes. "A few days ago Ebenezar contacted me. You already know the cover story."

"It's that you'll be teaching at that school" she guessed.

"Yes, but I'll actually teach" I said. "I didn't lie to Butters. I'll be in Scotland teaching a bunch of kids and probably failing spectacularly. But there's a warlock hiding out in the school. Even Ebenezar doesn't know much about them, the only sure thing is that there've been there for one to three years. So, my job is to find out who this guy is and capture them. Sounds easy, right?" Right.

Murphy snorted.

"Easy, sure." she shook her head. "You do know that your knowledge amounts to basically nothing, right?"

"I am a trained PI" I straightened up. "But yeah. It won't be easy but I don't have any other choices."

"Because of Ebenezar?" Murphy had a glint in her eyes that made me feel uncomfortable, but whatever.

"Yes" I nodded. She hmm-ed but didn't press. Instead she dug into her pancakes and, with her mouth full, asked, "Is there any chance you might need a highly trained police officer in your search?"

"Maybe, who did you have in mind?" I smirked as I took a bite.

"Let me ask around" she smiled back, but then her expression became serious again. "You sure it's okay? I mean, if this school is in an isolated place, it might cause suspicion if I'm there."

"I don't think the best way for you to help is to be there. I'll need to check a lot of people while also teaching."

"You want me to look up the suspects" she nodded. "All right, I can do that. But I don't want you to go alone, either."

A few years ago I would have dismissed her concern, but I learned better. Even the simplest-looking jobs can turn out to be world-wide conspiracies, and this time, the Gatekeeper was involved in the story. It may seem like nothing, but he really rarely involved himself in things. I learned some time ago that he actually guards the Outer Gates, and usually everything he does involves the Outsiders one way or another. And, anything that has Outsiders is bad. Like, capital B bad. So I took her concern to heart.

"I have a pinch Thomas will want to come, so that's something. And we don't really know where the school is or what surrounds it, but I guess we'll see."

"Thomas, you and me? Not a bad team" Murph smiled. "All right, I can accept that. But I'll be staying somewhere close. Dufftown sounds nice."

"Then we have very different definitions of nice." I ate the last bit of pancake and stood up. "You'll give me a ride? For some reason I don't have a car with me."

Murph crammed her pancake into her mouth and stood up as well. "What's the hurry?"

"I've got to prepare. Get ready for the hunt and also, I have no idea what I'll be teaching."

"Let's go, then. I wouldn't want you to go in unprepared."

* * *

 _You may be noticing that I'm awful at giving my hand the rest it needs. On the other hand, you got a chapter out of it. Still not promising anything, though._


	6. Chapter 6

Next day I woke up to an owl pecking impatiently and rather loudly on the window. Now, I have seen many things, but this was new. The owl was larger than any I've ever seen, though admittedly that's not many, and speckled gray. At first, I didn't even understand what it wanted, but then, shield ready to go, I opened the window and the owl flew into the room. It circled once and settled on the bed, seeming tired but I'm not sure what made me think that. Anyway, it extended one leg toward me and waited. Upon closer inspection, there was a letter tied to its feet. It took some courage, but the owl didn't seem to be aggressive, so I extended a hand and slowly untied the letter, all the while waiting for the owl to do something, but it just stood there, waiting patiently. It really spooked me, this wasn't the behavior you'd expect from your regular neighborhood owl, but what the heck. After I had the letter in my hand I straightened up and looked at the owl, waiting for it to do something, but the only thing it did was to put down its feet.

"You know, it might be hungry" a voice said from the nightstand. I turned toward the wooden skull surprised. Well, it's not really a wooden skull, she's a spirit of intellect like Bob. She's kind of my intellectual child with the shadow of a fallen angel. Yeah, I have that kind of life. She's been living in a wooden skull I carved ever since she was born from the inside of my head and she's been constantly learning, faster than I expected her to. It seems spirits of intellect don't just remember an insane amount of information, they also learn very quickly, though she was still very young and consequently very inexperienced. That's what was so great working with Bob: centuries of experience.

So far, my spirit refused to accept any name I tried to give her, saying she'd pick out her own, so I just hope she learns some cool names quickly. It can be surprisingly hard to have a conversation with someone when they don't have a name.

"You think so?" I put the letter down on the table. "All right, let's check it. What do owls eat?"

"I don't know" she said.

"Never mind" I started towards the kitchen. "It'll be an experiment."

In the kitchen I filled a bowl with water and picked up some seeds and the leftover chicken from a few nights ago and took them into the bedroom. The owl was sitting where I left it, pecking at its wing, but as soon as I put the bowl down it started drinking greedily.

"So that was it" I said, putting down the seeds and the pieces of chicken next to the water. Next, I went to the table and picked up the letter. It was heavily ornamented and was addressed,

 _Mr Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden_

 _Warden, Winter Knight, Defense Against the Dark Arts professor_

 _5452 S Ellis Ave_

 _Apartment of Molly Carpenter, Winter Lady_

 _Chicago, Illinois_

 _60615_

 _United States of America_

and had a crest on it with the words _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_. I turned it around in my hand but there was nothing else to see on the outside.

"Looks like a letter from the school" I told my spirit who was listening attentively. "It's addressed in more detail than I would've expected it to be. Perhaps with what I'm comfortable with. But it should only contain a few sheets of paper…"

I took the letter opener from a shelf, sat down and opened the envelope. It contained two sheets, a map which I put aside and a letter. "Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress" I read, looking at the letterhead, before starting to read it aloud.

 _"_ _Dear Mr Dresden,_

 _Thank you for accepting our request to teach in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a year. Since we are trying to open to the world, it is a great opportunity to have a teacher from the other side of magic. As we do not know much about your ways of performing magic we request that you arrive by august, so we can work out an adequate curriculum. To make it clear, we do not expect you to provide your usual level of training to the students, merely that you provide a different viewpoint for them to consider._

 _We trust you have your own textbooks. We ask that you send us your choice by owl as soon as possible to give time to bookstores to purchase it before the start of the year. To our knowledge, you do not use wands but other magical objects. If required for the students, we ask that you send the list of necessary objects as well. The owl which delivered this letter will wait for your return letter._

 _We have been told that you can get to London on your own, if not, please inform us by owl. In London you'll need to find the Leaky Cauldron, where they will guide you to the school. The uniform for teachers is a standard black robe which we strongly recommend that you wear. If you do not own one, you can purchase it in Diagon Alley, as any other provisions._

 _Enclosed you find a map of London with the Leaky Cauldron marked on it._

 _Kind regards,_

 _Neville Longbottom_

 _Deputy Headmaster"_

I put down the letter and looked at my spirit. "That was some language, wasn't it?" I asked her. "But at least it contained some information."

"The lettering is unimportant" she told me in a serious voice. "It's the information that matters. And there wasn't very much of that."

"Well," I looked down at the letter. "I have to get there by August, that's a little more than two weeks. I also have to choose a textbook, that must be Elementary Magic. What else did they ask? Oh yeah, objects. Well, I think they should be fine with their wands, don't you think?"

"My knowledge of magical objects is far too small to answer" she told me. "And I don't know anything about their wands. All I know is what you know."

I sighed. "Well, that won't do in the long run." I thought about it a lot, recently. Bob has been one of my most valuable possessions, if not the most valuable, and losing him hit me hard. True, I know a lot more than what I did when I started my business, but that's far from saying I knew a lot. And it's true I had a different spirit of intellect, but she's little more than a newborn.

"I'll have to make Bob teach you as much as he can" I said.

"Won't Butters object?" she asked. "From your memories it seemed he didn't want you to have that kind of knowledge. Wouldn't this be the same?"

Well, that could really be a problem. "I hope not" I said. "I can still reason you'll know only a tiny portion of Bob's knowledge. Let's say we have a week and a half to get there on time for sure. If you spend the whole time there, you can learn enough to assist me in general matters but not enough to pose a threat."

"It sounds possible" she agreed, her voice happy. I sometimes forget but she feels bad for not being able to help me. Knowing stuff is basically the sole point of her existence and so it's not a surprise that not knowing stresses her out. And like it or not, she's my responsibility.

"All right" I decided. "I'll call Butters."

-O-

Butters was reluctant, but in the end, he agreed to it. We agreed that I bring my spirit over so Bob can start teaching her immediately, so after a quick breakfast I grabbed my coat and a bag with the skull in it and headed out. I was just outside the doors when someone fell in step with me.

"I hear all kinds of things" my brother said as a greeting.

"This is becoming a tradition" I muttered as I stopped. "Do you have your car with you?"

"What?" he turned to face me.

"Your car" I repeated.

"No, not that" he waived a hand. "What tradition?"

"Oh" I said, "Yesterday Murphy waited for me, today it's you, it's starting to look like a tradition."

"Yeah, I have my car, why?" Thomas started walking, completely ignoring my amazing observation.

"I'm going to Butters'" I said, catching up with him. "And I don't currently have a car. So you could spare me the cost of a taxi."

"Only if you tell me what's going on" he said, glancing at me.

"Of course" I said. He turned his head toward me, surprised. Oh yeah, I forgot my usual tactics, that is, tell as little as possible. My sudden desire to tell him what's going on must have spooked him.

"Don't worry, I'm still Harry" I patted him on the shoulder. "There's not much to tell either way."

"All right, tell me what you can" he said, reaching his car and stopping next to it.

"You misunderstand me" I shook my head. "I literally don't know a lot. Ebenezar called me a week ago and asked me to do a job. There's a warlock in a school in Scotland and there's no way they'd let the council in, so I'm going unofficially as a teacher."

"A teacher" he repeated. "Do you think you can teach a classroom of kids?"

"No" I massaged my forehead. "But I don't have a choice. So I'll have to."

Now it was his turn to pat me on the shoulder.

"You'll figure it out" he said, then got into the car. "You need any help?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah" I smiled as I got in too. "You up for it?"

He turned toward me, grinning. "Always. It's been some time since I did something fun, anyway."


End file.
